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Frontier forts to be explored

Submitted photo — Hixon, left, and Sharon Spangenberg pose with maps and photos that they plan to use in their May 15 presentation to explain why they feel their location of Carmer's Fort Jonathan Hampton's 1757 is correct and the former presumed or probable location of it is in error.

Photo submitted by Jennie Sweetman — Carmer's Fort — For many years, this building was viewed as the possible location of Carmer's Fort, a French and Indian frontier fortified farm house, that housed eight soldiers.

Submitted photo — This Jonathan Hampton 1757 map was included in materials uncovered by the late Ted Brush and incorporated into his “New Jersey Forts on the Sussex County (Delaware) Frontier” in 1976. Submitted photo — This Jonathan Hampton 1757 map was included in
New in 1976.

Posted: May. 8, 2016 12:01 am

SANDYSTON -- Today, a ride down the Old Mine Road area in the Minisink Valley exudes a sense of peace and tranquility. But about 260 years ago, life in the valley was anything but peaceful.

As part of the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, the Walpack Historical Society will present a program at 1 p.m. Sunday, May 15, at the Walpack Methodist Church in Walpack Centre. Historical society spokesperson Jen Wycalek says that Sharon and Hixon Spangenberg will present a program on the Frontier Guard and the French and Indian War in the valley with the couple planning to focus their attention primarily on the Carmer family and the Carmer Fort.

It was in December 1755 that New Jersey Gov. Jonathan Belcher commenced taking the necessary steps to fortify the Minisink area along the Delaware. On Christmas Eve 1755, the legislators adopted an act to provide money to construct forts and to supply them with troops.

Initially, Col. Peter Schuyler and his Jersey Blues were assigned to the Minisink area from New York state to begin construction of the first fort.

Jay C. Richards, in "Flames Along the Delaware," explains that the province created the New Jersey Frontier Guards, as officials did not wish to tie up the militia or provincial troops with garrison duty in these forts and block houses.

Subsequently, 14 forts or fortified homes were located between Belvidere and Gardnerville, N.Y., a distance of 62 miles.

On March 16, 1756, an act was adopted for raising 250 able bodied free men as volunteers "to protect and defend the frontiers of this Colony, from any Invasions which may be made upon the same by the Enemy, in lieu of the Militia already Stationed upon the said Frontiers."

As explained in the act, its purpose was "to be employed by the Defence and Security of the Frontiers of this Colony, in the County of Sussex, and Places adjacent, from any Encroachments or Invasions which may be made upon the same by the Enemy."

In addition to the men, further action was taken to provide 50 good, large, strong and fierce dogs, as "it has been thought Dogs would be of great Service, not only in discovering them in their secret Retreats among the Swamps, Rocks and Mountains, frequent in those Parts, but also in assisting the Troops in pursuing and attacking them."

Presumably, the 250 men, if indeed that many had actually been sent to the Minisinks, were insufficient, for while researching, Spangenberg uncovered a petition dated March 1, 1757, from the inhabitants of the Township of Walpack, which reads in part: "Petition of inhabitants for men to be posted on the frontiers. Please in your wisdom to see cause to order other forces on the frontier or we will be obliged to leave our fine plantations and fly for safety to some other place." This petition was signed by several men including Abraham and James Karmer.

With the Indian raids and attacks continuing, an act was adopted on Oct. 22, 1757, to provide an additional 30 men on the frontier. This was followed in Aug. 12, 1758, with an act adopted to provide an additional 150 men.

As an example of the atrocities that transpired during that period, listed in New Jersey Colonial Documents, Newspaper Extracts may be found the following: "A List of the Killed in Jersey, since May 1757. May 2, Jacob Van Kamp and Peter Brink, near the Head Quarters. Nov. 9, John Doty and Otho M'Hurin, near the same Place. Nov. 10, Gideon Westbrook, near Brank's Fort. Nov. 11, John Pressler. May 15, 1758, Nicholas Cole's four Children, and three Germans. May 25, Mary Willing, near Fort Gardiner. June 8, Cornelius Westbrook, and Abram Westbrook. In this Surprize an Indian was killed. June 12, Bastian Contract and Mary Kirkindale. Here an Indian, Armstrong, was likewise killed by a Boy (later identified as "a Lad, aged about Seventeen Years, sirnamed Titssort"). June 13, At Urian Westafall's, Eight Men. June 23, William Ward.

"We now have 200 Soldiers on our Frontiers, which keeps the Inhabitants from leaving their Habitations. Three of our Jersey Men went over the River to plow, near the Fort at Pequase, when a Party of Indians fell upon them, and murdered and scalp's them. This was the 14th Instant." -- The Pennsylvania Journal, No. 813, July 6, 1758.

In 1976, an article, "New Jersey Forts on the Sussex County (Delaware) Frontier," written by Ted Brush and published by the North Jersey Highlands Historical Society, described the forts located along the Delaware and their probable or possible location.

Brush described the probable location of Carmer's Fort, a fortified dwelling that housed eight soldiers, as located at the junction of the Dingman's Ferry-Bevans Road and the Old Mine Road in Sandyston.

While researching an entirely different topic -- where Bluebeard (Benjamin) Van Auken lived and had his still and tavern -- Spangenberg realized that the Carmers did not own land in this area, and after much research on deeds in the county Hall of Records, determined that in all probability the Carmers' frontier fortified dwelling was either the former Rose and Frances Friedman dwelling or it was located on that property.

In summarizing her reasons for arriving at this conclusion, Spangenberg notes that "this dwelling, formerly owned by the Carmers, and guessed to have been built in 1744, was the only known historic house along the side of a road near the Delaware River that existed prior to the French and Indian War, that was 97 chains north of the east/west Jersey line and that had a running spring of water that fed the farmhouse."

By coincidence, when the salvage rights to this house were put up, as the house was demolished for the proposed Tocks Island project, they were taken by Spangenberg and his father.

Photos of some of the materials removed from the house will be on display at the presentation.

Weather permitting, after the presentation, a car pool trip will be made to the site where the Spangenbergs believe that the old Carmers' frontier fortified farmhouse was located.

It's been more than 260 years since Indian raids and skirmishes took place in the Minisink Valley, which necessitated the building of forts and fortified frontier farmhouses, and the housing of military troops, but today, the place where the Spangenbergs guess that the frontier fort was located evokes a sense of peace and tranquility.

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Jennie Sweetman is the history columnist for the New Jersey Herald. She may be contacted at jenniee@warwick.net.

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